Many pantheists recognize the divine presence in all life. I recently saw a film on Curiosity Stream called Secret Life Underground that has deepened my appreciation and reverence for everything within nature. I’ve always loved rocks and known that life is found all around us. But this documentary featured the ecosystems that exist within the rocks themselves.
I want to share the world of Endoliths with my fellow pantheists. Endoliths are beings, such as bacteria or fungi and sometimes even worms, living within the rocks. Some Endoliths eat other beings similar to the way a rabbit eats grass or an owl eats a mouse. Other Endoliths create their own food from the chemicals surrounding them. Very similar to the way plants use sunlight to grow, some endolithic beings use chemicals in the rocks to grow and create food. Endoliths can be found on all continents and in a variety of places from the ocean floor, mountain peaks and even deep within the earth.
Our technology is just starting to give us a glimpse into these important ecosystems that are full of life. Scientists such as Dr. Gaetan Borgnine have found nematodes, a type of worm, living with bacteria in the Beatrix gold mine over 1.4 Km (4600ft) below the Earth’s surface. Scientists hypothesize that their ancestors may have been trapped within the stalactites during the Permian period over 250 million years ago, but more research is needed.
I am blown away that generations of beings have thrived within the rocks of the earth longer than many of the surface dwelling species have existed.
Here are links to more information on these fascinating creatures.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964830522000154
https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/endoliths/index.html
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26441844/
By Jennifer Hall
I want to share the world of Endoliths with my fellow pantheists. Endoliths are beings, such as bacteria or fungi and sometimes even worms, living within the rocks. Some Endoliths eat other beings similar to the way a rabbit eats grass or an owl eats a mouse. Other Endoliths create their own food from the chemicals surrounding them. Very similar to the way plants use sunlight to grow, some endolithic beings use chemicals in the rocks to grow and create food. Endoliths can be found on all continents and in a variety of places from the ocean floor, mountain peaks and even deep within the earth.
Our technology is just starting to give us a glimpse into these important ecosystems that are full of life. Scientists such as Dr. Gaetan Borgnine have found nematodes, a type of worm, living with bacteria in the Beatrix gold mine over 1.4 Km (4600ft) below the Earth’s surface. Scientists hypothesize that their ancestors may have been trapped within the stalactites during the Permian period over 250 million years ago, but more research is needed.
I am blown away that generations of beings have thrived within the rocks of the earth longer than many of the surface dwelling species have existed.
Here are links to more information on these fascinating creatures.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0964830522000154
https://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/extreme/endoliths/index.html
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26441844/
By Jennifer Hall
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